LEARNING AND INCENTIVE PROBLEMS IN REPEATED PARTNERSHIPS

This paper analyzes optimal contracts for financing risky new projects in a two-period agency model. The principal and the agent both learn about the project quality, and the agent's unobservable actions affect the learning process. The parties have access to the credit market. Compared to the short-term contracts, the long-term contract induces the agent to work harder (less hard) in period one if his marginal effort in the first period increases (reduces) the value of information. In both cases, the long-term contract enables the parties to learn more about the project type.